What does the police killing of a homeless man in San Francisco have to do with the Arab Spring uprisings from Tunisia to Syria? The attempt to suppress the protests that followed. In our digitally networked world, the ability to communicate is increasingly viewed as a basic right. Open communication fuels revolutions — it can take down dictators. When governments fear the power of their people, they repress, intimidate and try to silence...

In recent years, online hackers who identified as being part of Anonymous and other groups have carried out dozens of high-profile online operations. When MasterCard and Visa suspended payments to WikiLeaks last December, hackers with Anonymous briefly took down the websites of both credit card giants. Other targets have included Sony, PayPal, Amazon, Bank of America, the Church of Scientology, and the governments of Egypt, Tunisia and Syria....

The Egyptian revolution can count a number of huge successes, most notably, ousting former president Hosni Mubarak from power and putting him on public trial. But the revolution is far from over. The struggle for governmental reform, civil liberties and economic and social justice is being waged every day. And there is one issue that affects all others: the media. Whether it is newspapers, television, radio or the internet, the media is a...

In Egypt, the trial of former president Hosni Mubarak has been adjourned until August 15. On Wednesday, Mubarak appeared in court for the first time, along with his two sons, Gamal and Alaa. He was brought into the Cairo courtroom on a hospital stretcher. Mubarak denied all the charges against him, which include profiteering, illegal business dealing involving Israeli gas exports, and the unlawful killing of protesters during the revolution....

Democracy Now! correspondent Sharif Abdel Kouddous was on site in Cairo today as former Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak, appeared in court for the first time to face allegations of corruption and the killing of protesters during the uprising that overthrew his rule. The trial has been adjourned until August 15. "Today was really a defining moment in the Egyptian revolution, a defining moment in Egypt’s history," Sharif says....

As the holy month of Ramadan begins, the Egyptian army has deployed tanks and troops in Cairo’s Tahrir Square, firing shots in the air to disperse the remaining pro-democracy protesters who have been occupying the square for three weeks in protest against the slow pace of reform after the popular uprising ousted former president Hosni Mubarak. According to witnesses, security personnel stormed the area from several directions, smashing...

From Sharif’s new article in "Foreign Policy": "Five months after the fall of Hosni Mubarak, Tahrir Square has, once again, been transformed into a mass protest encampment and the epicenter of the struggle for change in Egypt. Thousands of protesters are entering the second week of a sit-in reminiscent of the one that captured the world’s attention during the 18-day uprising that began on Jan. 25."

A massive week-long demonstration continues in Cairo’s Tahrir Square in perhaps the largest rallies in the five months since the uprising that led to the fall of former president, Hosni Mubarak. Protests have also been held in the coastal cities of Alexandria and Suez. The protesters are calling for all the demands of the Egyptian revolution to be met, including a wider purge of members of the Mubarak’s regime. Yesterday, 30 men armed with...

Hundreds of thousands of Egyptians have gathered in Cairo’s Tahrir Square for what could be the largest demonstration since the uprising that toppled former president Hosni Mubarak. They say there has been little progress on reforms promised in the five months since the uprising. In Suez on Monday, riots were sparked by a court order to release seven policemen charged with killing demonstrators. On Tuesday, the courts acquitted three former...

Earlier this year, WikiLeaks released the largest trove of classified U.S. State Department cables in history, exposing the U.S. role in propping up unpopular regimes in the Middle East and supporting human rights abuses against opponents. During a July 2 discussion moderated by Democracy Now!’s Amy Goodman, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange highlighted the importance in releasing the information documented in the diplomatic cables, the impact...